Origin: USA
Type: Ancient Ale
Color: Hazy gold
Recommended serving temperature: 9ºC/48ºF
Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewing Inc.
I have decided to finally write today, after one year of this blog, about a Dogfish Head beer. It was not my intention to delay my first post on Dogfish Head this much, but for one reason or another I just never got around to writing about one of their beers.
I am now going to correct this oversight with a post on one of the beers from their very distinctive ancient ales series, the Midas Touch Golden Elixir.
The Ancient Ales series is a set of four beers brewed following the analysis of residues found in archaeological sites. It includes an ale from the neolithic era called Chateau Jiahu, a pre-hispanic Meso-American ale called Theobroma and Ta-Henket, an Egyptian hyerogliphics based recipe made famous in one of the episodes of Brew Masters, Dogfish Head's short-lived show on the Discovery Channel.
Midas Touch is brewed with a recipe inspired by the residues found in clay vessels from the tomb of King Midas, dating back 2,700 years ago.
It's of a hazy golden yellow color and does not really have that much foam.
The smell is dominated by herbs, and spices (saffron based on the ingredients and the tasting notes, even though I cannot say I am able to make out that much), with a little bit of a tart winey character to it.
The taste is also herby and spicy, but it is now not only tart, but also sweet. You can also feel a certain breadyness from the yeast which kind of balances out these flavors. It's kind of like mixing honey, wine and beer. Except it is not "kind of", because it actually mixes white muscat grapes and honey in its ingredients.
The result is a very interesting one indeed, as the grapes lend this beer the subtle body more traditional in wine than in craft beer, as well as the higher sugar content which provides for a higher ABV, in this case 9%. The alcohol, despite being noticeable, is however quite well blended in to the whole flavor and the substantial carbonation keeps it from having a watery feel. In this sense, the image that springs to mind in terms of mouthfeel is that of an incredibly strong lager.
I have not had a chance to try it with any food and given the unique flavor profile I am a little bit lost, but out of the ones recommended by Dogfish Head, one stands out as particularly appropriate, a risotto, preferably nice and creamy and without too many ingredients, in order to showcase the beer's flavors. Because one thing's for sure, this beer is an experience to reflect on.
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